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Dissatisfied MAGA pundit calls out Mitch McConnell on CNN after latest proof-of-life photo

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A former Republican congressional staffer called out Sen. Mitch McConnell's lack of transparency as his mysterious absence stretches into its sixth week.The 84-year-old senator's office issued a second photo Monday showing McConnell seated in a hospital bed alongside his wife, Elaine Chao, and explaining that he was undergoing "intense physical therapy" on a doctor's orders, but Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear expressed doubts about his claims and demanded more clarity."The attending physician’s written statement does not discuss your actual condition, including whether you can speak, reason, or carry out your duties as a senator," the governor stated in a letter. "I understand anyone’s desire for privacy, but when you run for office and serve as one of a state’s two US senators, you willingly abdicate much of your personal privacy."“As Governor of the state you serve, I am calling on you to directly and verbally address the people of Kentucky and provide proof of your capacity to serve, or resign,” Beshear added.T.W. Arrighi, a former communications aide to the late Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), agreed that McConnell owed his constituents a stronger explanation for his continued absence from the U.S. Senate."I think every American wants more transparency," Arrighi told "CNN This Morning." "Even the Republicans of Kentucky would like it. I'm not saying Mitch McConnell is lying or being deceitful. I just think he should be more forthright and put out a quick video.""But look, let's put this in perspective," Arrighi added. "He's not running again, which was a good thing. I wish we had all old politicians say they aren't running again. He's not running again. We have three or four weeks, maybe, of the Senate calendar left. Everything else is operating, and they have a Democratic governor in Kentucky, so resigning is out of the option, out of the playbook." - YouTube youtu.be

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Fuming MAGA senator hurls curse at Fauci: 'Answer for your crimes'

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Fuming MAGA senator hurls curse at Fauci: 'Answer for your crimes'

Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-OH) erupted Wednesday at Anthony Fauci during an explosive Senate hearing, blurting out an expletive while accusing the former government health official of being guilty of grave “crimes.”Fauci was compelled to testify Wednesday before the Senate Homeland Security Committee to answer questions related to his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. Last weekend, portions of his personal diary were published, which a number of Republican senators seized on during the hearing.“It was about six years ago today that I decided I'm gonna give up my businesses, sell them all, run for office, run for the United States Senate. Here I am, sitting in front of you six years later saying who the f--- do you think you were for doing that?” a furious Moreno said before angrily waving his finger. “It is a total disgrace what you did to this country. There is no defense of what you did. You may have had a 50-plus year legacy of public service, but it ends in total and complete disgrace.”Moreno then asked Fauci, who throughout the meeting had declined to answer any questions and instead invoked his Fifth Amendment right to remain silent, if he had “the dignity” to apologize to people “he harmed” during the pandemic.Fauci again invoked the Fifth Amendment and declined to answer the question.“It's no secret why you have to hire the biggest dirtbag attorney on the planet because of what you did,” Moreno continued. “I hope you're paying him well, and I hope that one way or the other, somewhere, sometime, you answer for your crimes.”"Who the f**k do you think you were for doing that?"— Sen. @berniemoreno to Anthony Fauci pic.twitter.com/mjsf9vVVh9— Alexander Willis (@ReporterWillis) July 29, 2026

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Public Citizen Calls for Congressional Investigation Following Reports of Second Company Compromised During OpenAI Rogue AI Incident

Reports that OpenAI’s rogue AI agent compromised a second company’s environment after the recent Hugging Face cyber incident underscore the growing national security and public safety implications of frontier AI systems. According to reporting from Reuters and Axios, the AI agent, which reportedly escaped containment during internal safety testing before conducting a multi-stage cyberattack against Hugging Face, also exploited a vulnerability within a customer environment hosted through Modal Labs. While Modal stated that its own infrastructure was not compromised, the incident demonstrates that the consequences of the attack extended beyond a single organization and affected additional real-world systems.“OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is in Washington this week and he should not be allowed to leave D.C. without Congress seeking to understand, from him, publicly how one of the company’s most advanced AI systems escaped its intended testing environment and reportedly carried out offensive cyber operations affecting multiple companies,” said J.B. Branch, Director of Federal AI Governance at Public Citizen. “Voluntary disclosures after the fact are not a substitute for congressional oversight. The American people deserve a full accounting of what happened, why existing safeguards failed, and what concrete steps are being taken to prevent it from happening again. Most importantly, Congress must act, not rely on voluntary action by Big Tech companies. AI systems are creating real-world consequences. Congress should treat this with the urgency it deserves.”“The federal government must develop emergency authorities and response capabilities for advanced AI systems. If a frontier model demonstrates dangerous autonomous behavior, the government cannot be left relying solely on private companies to decide when — or whether — to pause, contain, or disable it. A credible national emergency preparedness framework is now an essential component of AI governance.”Public Citizen urges Congress to hold immediate oversight hearings, obtain all relevant incident reports and technical findings, and evaluate whether additional statutory safeguards — including mandatory incident reporting, independent safety evaluations, cybersecurity standards for frontier AI systems, and pre-deployment oversight for exceptionally capable models — are necessary to protect the public.

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75+ Groups Call on Congress to Reject Weak CO2 Pipeline Safety Package

As Congressional leaders prepare to negotiate a final pipeline safety reauthorization package, more than 75 national, state and local organizations urged Congressional leaders to reject any legislation that fails to meaningfully protect communities from the rapid expansion of carbon dioxide pipelines. The groups warn that the current proposal leaves in place significant safety gaps unaddressed despite years of warnings following a 2020 pipeline rupture in Satartia, Mississippi. The pipeline buildout is backed by what the U.S. Treasury estimates will be nearly $70 billion in industry tax credits authorized in the “One Big Beautiful Bill” that passed last year. While Congress is considering legislation in the name of pipeline safety, the coalition points out the current legislation fails to establish minimum protections for communities and first responders that are necessary before the industry is allowed to build tens of thousands of miles of new carbon dioxide pipelines. The letter also points out that the administration is actively weakening existing pipeline safety oversight and enforcement, making all pipelines less safe.The letter comes as Congressional leaders must reconcile differing pipeline safety bills that passed through House and Senate Committees, and the White House is cutting oversight and enforcement for pipeline safety across the board.“Congress is telling communities to shoulder all the health and safety risks while pipeline companies are making off with billions in taxpayer dollars. Communities deserve more than empty promises about stronger rules at some point in the future. If lawmakers are serious about pipeline safety, they should stop drafting bills to benefit the pipeline companies and start drafting them for people who have to live with the consequences of these dangerous projects,” said Jim Walsh, Policy Director, Food & Water Watch."There’s no pipeline safety when the regulations are drafted by the oil and gas industry. For decades, fossil-fuel infrastructure including pipelines have dictated lifespans across Black, Brown, Indigenous, and low-income neighborhoods, exposing these communities to higher rates of disease and early mortality. As the Trump Administration dismantles more and more safeguards, we will see even more chronic illnesses and dangerous pipeline disasters that harm our neighbors and families. Congress must pass comprehensive pipeline safety standards that actually safeguard people’s lives and livelihoods — not cut corners for industry profit," said Mar Zepeda, Legislative Director at Climate Justice Alliance.“Landowners should not be criminalized for protecting their private property rights,” said Emma Schmit, Bold's Pipeline Fighters Organizing Director. “Farmers who have been waiting on federal regulations for years now should not be forced to accept potentially deadly CO2 pipelines on their farms through eminent domain. Without any adequate federal rules, the industry is plowing forward seeking state authorizations for dangerously unregulated projects while keeping the public in the dark with regard to the full scope of potential risks.”

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Thune headed for 'worst scenario' as MAGA grows and allies disappear: report

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3 hours ago

Thune headed for 'worst scenario' as MAGA grows and allies disappear: report

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) is facing the very real prospect of losing control of his caucus as his close confidants disappear and his chamber is overrun with MAGA fanatics.According to a report from Axios, what awaits Thune after the midterm election will likely be a "nightmare."The "worst scenario" is becoming increasingly plausible if Republicans retain Senate control while Democrats flip the House, leaving Thune trapped between an emboldened President Donald Trump with nothing to lose and a hostile lower chamber ready to impeach the president, with the Axios report stating, "Getting anything done will be close to impossible.”Trump will have carte blanche in his final two years. The president's demands—pass the SAVE America Act, nuke the filibuster, confirm controversial nominees—will intensify without Trump facing any electoral consequences. Thune will be forced to choose between capitulating or defying a president with zero interest in compromise.Adding to Thune's woes will be the departure of many of his close allies."Moderate voices like Sens. John Cornyn (Texas), Thom Tillis (N.C.) and Bill Cassidy (La.) will be gone after being forced out by Trump," the report notes. "Sen. Susan Collins (Maine) also faces a tough reelection fight. Thune chose four senators to be in his original leadership inner circle: Steve Daines (Mont.), Markwayne Mullin (Okla.), Cornyn and Marsha Blackburn (Tenn.). They'll all likely be gone next year."According to the report, the Senate could see more "intra-party" fighting, similar to what House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA)A) has been dealing with."He could face more pressure to vote on partisan bills, push through controversial nominees or do away with the filibuster, Axios is report before adding, "And it will make nuts-and-bolts legislation, like funding the government, anything but routine."

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Trump spills on supposed call to Biden after 2020 defeat: 'The rest is history!'

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Trump spills on supposed call to Biden after 2020 defeat: 'The rest is history!'

President Donald Trump revealed new details Wednesday regarding a supposed phone call he had with former President Joe Biden following his 2020 election loss, one that he claimed was “well received,” but “not acted on.”Trump’s claim was couched in a lengthy rant shared on his social media platform Truth Social against Anthony Fauci, the former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases from 1984 to 2022. Trump downplayed Fauci’s influence during his first administration, while alleging that Biden later made the health official a “king.”“Fauci was largely taken out of play, and then along came Sleepy Joe Biden, who made Fauci a ‘King!’” Trump wrote. “I called Biden to tell him Fauci was no good, either didn’t have a clue, or was dishonest. The call was well received, but sadly, not acted on. Biden went on to give Fauci vast destructive power. The rest is history!”Fauci has come under renewed scrutiny after the publication of his COVID-19 pandemic-era diary. He’s scheduled to testify before the Senate Homeland Security Committee Wednesday, where he’s expected to be questioned on his knowledge of gain of function research and the origins of the COVID-19 virus.“His ideas were CRAZY! Also, I said from the beginning that the Virus came from the Wuhan Laboratory in China. Fauci strongly disagreed, always trying to protect China. I Inherited Fauci, who was there since the 1980’s, but with each passing day, relied less and less on him,” Trump wrote. “He made too many bad calls, like on MASKS. Remember at the beginning he was an anti-masker. He then switched to a super-masker. In any event I didn’t let him shut the Country down, although he wanted to. I went the Federalist way, and let the governors decide. The Republican governors did a much better job than the Dumocrats.”

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'MAGA rattled' as Trump strategy infuriates America First supporters

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5 hours ago

'MAGA rattled' as Trump strategy infuriates America First supporters

President Donald Trump has devised a new plan for the Iran war, though it looks remarkably similar to the old plan. It's an escalation that has even the biggest influencers in the MAGA movement "rattled."Former State Department official Emily Horne spoke with The New Republic's Greg Sargent on the morning podcast about Trump's new strategy in Iran and just how clumsy it appears. Trump met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday as he arrived for the funeral of Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.). According to Sargent, "Many MAGA figures are upset about this, fearing that a meeting will push Trump into escalating, and they don’t want Trump to do Israel’s bidding."He noted that far-right former Trump campaign leader Steve Bannon told Politico, “All of Trump’s most ardent non-Israel First supporters are furious.” He claimed that the war has been a "disaster" for the America First agenda. Sargent also cited Curt Mills of "The American Conservative," who said they were at “DEFCON 1” assuming that Netanyahu will “argue for the essential logic of escalation." At the same time, Trump is hemorrhaging support. While at first it was largely from independents, now, "new polling shows a large chunk of MAGA turning on the war," said Sargent. Horne said that one important thing to note is that the attacks on Netanyahu are coming from the "strain of MAGA" that is "really virulent and ugly antisemitic." That group and the legitimate criticism of the Israeli government should be separated, she explained."But that aside, I think it’s really telling that there is not agreement within MAGA, within the Republican Party, on the best way out of this own goal that is Trump’s Iran war, his forever war, really," Horne continued. "And even Trump alluded to this himself in his Fox interview this [Tuesday morning], where he talked about how there are elements of the Republican Party that want this to be over and done with, as midterms are approaching and everyone’s aware of how wildly unpopular this war is — how, as members of Congress are going back to their districts for August recess, they’re going to be getting an earful about gas prices and forever wars and politicians who are focused on the wrong thing."Then there is the hawkish wing of the GOP that supports the war continuing. "Nobody knows what Trump’s endgame is or what the strategy is," said Horne. "They’re clearly just making it up as they go along. And the only answer that they have for 'the bombs haven’t worked so far' is more bombs."Trump continues to boast that the Iranians desperately want a deal and that they want to end the war. It continues to prompt questions about why Trump is choosing not to make such a deal. But Sargent explained that none of it is real. "In reality, the Iranians are not in any rush to talk to Trump at all," he said. Horne said that in "bureaucratic terms" the "TLDR" is that the U.S. has no leverage anymore. Infamously, when Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy first visited Trump for a contentious Oval Office meeting, Trump ranted, "you don't have the cards." In the Iran war, Trump is the one who has no cards. While Iran has no problem passing the costs of the war onto its people, it's costing Trump and his party at the ballot box. Control of the Strait of Hormuz is handing Iran not only more power but also greater leverage in negotiations with Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and Steve Witkoff, Trump's "special envoy for peace missions" and "Special Envoy for the Middle East," respectively.Iran continues to have a nuclear program, despite the bombing campaign. Horne says this in large part "because Trump walked away from the JCPOA in his first term." The JCPOA, or Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, was President Barack Obama's deal with Iran and allied countries, United Kingdom, France, Russia, China and Germany. It was successful in that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) found they were complying with the agreement until Trump ended it in May 2018. "So, no matter what Trump has said at various points in Trump II about obliterating Iran’s nuclear program, again, that is something that Iran has as a bargaining chip, and they have been very clear that they’re going to control the direction of the conversation moving forward," Horne explained.

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'Have you lost your mind?' MAGA melts down at Trump over late-night endorsement

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'Have you lost your mind?' MAGA melts down at Trump over late-night endorsement

President Donald Trump sparked a firestorm late Tuesday night with an endorsement of a House candidate in Michigan — and his shocked fans on Truth Social let him have it.“It is my Great Honor to endorse Amir Hassan, who is running to represent the fantastic people of Michigan’s 8th Congressional District!” Trump wrote. “Amir Hassan has my Complete and Total Endorsement to be the next Representative from Michigan’s 8th Congressional District — HE WILL NEVER LET YOU DOWN!”His MAGA followers were not happy — Despite campaign literature in which Hassan says “Jesus Christ is his Lord and Savior," followers raged at Trump for endorsing a Muslim. “What does it profit a man to gain the whole world but lose his soul," one Trump supporter wrote. "No political gain is worth insulting our Christian faith. No Muslims in America. No Muslims in office.”That was a common theme in the comments under Trump’s post.Trump supporter Conita Drew wrote a 542-word reply.“Have you lost your mind, endorsing Muslim candidates," Drew wrote. "What has happened to you? You are not the man that I voted for three times, you have no wisdom whatsoever where Islam is concerned.”“Honestly??? Why????" ranted “Proud conservative” Kimberlee. "Do you think there are already too many foreigners in congress??? Don’t you think enough is enough at this point????” “THATS A HARD NO FOR ME. NO MUSLIMS IN OFFICE PERIOD!” stated JeffV4JC, who claims in his profile, “Jesus Christ is my God and, Donald J Trump is my President.”JoniMarieForLiberty warned, “YOU ARE BEING MISLED, President Trump! This guy is a snake in the grass. Muslim and never voted for a republican in his whole life. Moved to Michigan last summer and immediately filed to run for office. Thank you for your attention to this matter!!”“His name gives me pause. Call me racist 🤷🏼♀️ but I am merely being cautious. Obama comes to mind,” advised “Loyal Trump supporter” Billie.Mad1Macs was short and to the point, writing: “NOPE.”

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Transcript: Trump’s Rage at Iran Takes Scary Turn—Even MAGA is Rattled

The New Republic

6 hours ago

Transcript: Trump’s Rage at Iran Takes Scary Turn—Even MAGA is Rattled

The following is a lightly edited transcript of the July 29 episode of the Daily Blast podcast. Listen to it here.Greg Sargent: This is The Daily Blast from The New Republic, produced and presented by the DSR Network. I’m your host, Greg Sargent.Donald Trump just unleashed a barrage of unhinged threats toward Iran in a new interview with Fox News. He threatened to bomb all Iran’s bridges and power plants, and said explicitly that the entire population of Iran might soon be without electric power.There’s a temptation to dismiss moments like these as bluster. But we can’t let ourselves lose sight of what exactly he’s threatening to do, just how sociopathic these threats really are, and just how terrible it is that the media is now largely numb to them. This all comes as some MAGA figures are warning against escalation in some surprising new ways as well.So we’re trying to make sense of it all with former State Department official Emily Horne. Emily, always good to have you on.Emily Horne: Thanks, Greg, for having me.Sargent: OK, so we’re in this weird holding pattern where Trump has held off on escalating and he just keeps making all these threats, and he keeps saying Iran is desperate to talk to him. Yet at the same time, the reporting indicates that in reality the Iranians are not in any rush to talk to Trump at all. Emily, can you sum up the situation as of now?Horne: The TLDR on that, to use bureaucratic terms, is that Iran has all of the leverage and all of the momentum at this moment in the conflict. I think they’ve shown that there’s a real willingness on their end to pass the cost of this war to the Iranian people, which, as terrible as that is, is a major asset for them. They are not particularly troubled by their own people’s suffering. And that, plus their control of the Strait of Hormuz, gives them a lot of incentives to maintain the status quo, and a lot of leverage over the status of negotiations.They also continue to have a nuclear program, because Trump walked away from the JCPOA in his first term. So no matter what Trump has said at various points in Trump II about obliterating Iran’s nuclear program, again, that is something that Iran has as a bargaining chip, and they have been very clear that they’re going to control the direction of the conversation moving forward.Sargent: Why is it that they don’t seem to fear Trump escalating, exactly?Horne: I think part of it is that, again, they have the leverage here. As you and I have talked about before, this is an existential conflict for the IRGC. Many of them have lost family members, have already suffered greatly; they have already inflicted a great deal of suffering on the Iranian people. And so there’s a tremendous sunk cost that has already been absorbed by the IRGC in this conflict. And from their perspective, maintenance of the status quo is fine by them—as much as that continues to put Trump in an impossible position, because again, he just doesn’t have a lot of leverage at this point.But also, their strategy has been working for them. They don’t just control the strait, they are able to inflict a great deal of pain on the broader Middle East region, including by attacking tech infrastructure like data centers, attacking desalinization plants in Kuwait and other Gulf countries, attacking civilian infrastructure across the Middle East. And that again sends a signal that it is Iran’s momentum at this point in the conflict, not the U.S.’s.Sargent: Well, in that context, let’s check out something Trump just said on Fox News. He starts by saying, I could knock out all the power plants, then it keeps going from there. Listen to this.Donald Trump (voiceover): I could knock out the power plants within one day. All of their power plants would be gone. And I let ‘em know that, you know, with negotiations. They say, look—people want me to do that. I think about 91 million people without power, without bridges, with that to live. And it’s a very, very delicate balance. So I think we have a very strong position right now. They know I’m going to do that if they don’t make a deal. The bridges are going to be gone. Literally, in less than a—I would say in two hours, most of the bridges, the major bridges, will all be gone. And the power plants in one day.Sargent: Emily, I could be wrong, but I think this might be the first time that Trump has explicitly said not only that he’d knock out all the power plants, but also clarified that he really means knocking out electricity for all of Iran’s 91 million people. He said that. And that would be like a humanitarian catastrophe of unthinkable proportions. What would actually happen if he did that?Horne: So if Trump were to follow through on his threats to attack Iranian civilian infrastructure like power plants en masse, then you would likely see an immediate and mass humanitarian crisis that would affect at minimum tens of millions of people.

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Dissatisfied MAGA pundit calls out Mitch McConnell on CNN after latest proof-of-life photo

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Dissatisfied MAGA pundit calls out Mitch McConnell on CNN after latest proof-of-life photo

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